The Athletic’s George Caulkin has claimed that Sean Longstaff leaving Newcastle United would be a sideways step in his career.
It was only a few years ago when Longstaff broke onto the scene under former boss Rafael Benitez and managed to net his first goal for his boyhood club at St James’ park, which led to reports linking him with a monster move away.
Those reports suggested that Manchester United were lining up a move for Longstaff, who Newcastle valued at £50m, but since then, injuries and form have seen him fall down the pecking order until this season, as Eddie Howe has trusted him entirely, with Longstaff yet to miss a minute of first-team football since early September.
With Longstaff now back to his best form, Caulkin has issued a hands-off warning to clubs such as Man United on the latest episode of Pod on the Tyne.
He said: “Look at Sean Longstaff too in these last few matches – he’s played every minute of the last three games in eight days. I think there’s that stat about him covering more ground over 90 minutes than any other Newcastle player.
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“Welcome back, Sean, you’re now the player that we thought we had two or three seasons ago who was causing interest from Manchester United, who, by the way, can keep their hands off him – that would be a sideways move for Sean now, anyway.”
TIF Thoughts on Longstaff’s form…
It’s no secret that Longstaff did indeed see his form drop off and was even close to becoming a free agent in the summer before he decided to put pen to paper on a new contract, which now looks to have been an inspired decision from the player and club.
The arrival of Bruno Guimaraes and resurgence of Joelinton may well have been the catalysts behind Longstaff’s upturn in form, as well as the pressure of having veteran Jonjo Shelvey returning from injury, but whatever it is, Eddie Howe will be hoping it keeps Longstaff on his toes moving forward.
Longstaff is clearly an important player under Howe, ranking inside the top 10 for points per match amongst outfielders to have started a league game (FBref), however, if someone such as Man United reignited their £50m interest, we feel it would be staggering for Newcastle to reject such an offer.